


Uh-Oh!

by MiraculousLBfangirl (fdmflavia)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Identity Issues, Identity Reveal, Mentions of Ladynoir, but is actually adrinette, love square, mentions of Marichat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-04-07 18:55:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19091074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fdmflavia/pseuds/MiraculousLBfangirl
Summary: Adrien should have known that being friends with Marinette on both sides of his mask could have consequences.





	1. Absent-minded

Adrien watched as Marinette disappeared through the trapdoor of her bedroom. She had gone downstairs to prepare a snack for them; the Geography project was taking longer than expected. He looked around the place he had grown fond of, then got up from the chair and lied down on the chaise with his hands under his head, staring at the ceiling as he had done many times in the last weeks.

He had been visiting her as Chat Noir and she always welcomed him with some treats and warm conversations. One of the main topics they used to talk about was his love for Ladybug. Marinette had looked uncomfortable the first time he told her about his feelings on her balcony and also later when he said he had been rejected. In the course of time, however, she started giving him advice. She said he should turn down the flirting and jokes a little if he expected to be taken seriously. He’d followed most of them and it seemed to be working.

Ladybug no longer rebuffed his advances as she used to, when he made a move, that is. Since he reserved the flirting for outside the battles, she flirted back and it never failed to wake up the butterflies in his stomach. Now his sparse, but admittedly cleverer jokes always brought a smile to her face, if not one of her adorable giggles that threatened to melt him on the spot. It was heaven.

Chat Noir had not yet dared to try again; there was the other guy after all. But in the last few days, he had wondered if it was time to take a chance. There was a warm atmosphere between them now and instead of it giving him confidence, it made him fear to ruin his progress if he tried. 

“Lost in thoughts?” Marinette’s soft voice interrupted his musings as she climbed up the last few steps with a tray in her hands, full of the delicious pastries he adored and two mugs of something.

The familiar sight in front of him brought a smile to Adrien's lips. If there was someone able to help him decide what to do, it was her. He turned his gaze back to the ceiling and sighed. 

“Just wondering if I should try to confess again to Ladybug, but I still don’t know if the time is right. What do you think, Princess?” 

The sound of the tray falling to the floor along with Marinette’s loud gasp was the only response he got. Adrien instantly turned his head to look at her and worry filled him as he saw the tremor in her hands. He didn’t waste time, getting up quickly and rushing to her.

“What happened?” She stared at him with wide eyes, not caring about the mess on the floor which worried him even more. “Marinette, please. Say something.” He searched her face for something, anything that could clue him to what was going on, but she just stared at him for a long moment.

“Chat Noir?” She finally asked.

Adrien did not understand why she was asking. It was only when he reached up to touch her shoulder that he saw his bare hands, without the gloves and claws of the black cat he thought that was in front of Marinette.

“Uh oh!” He said, realizing that he had messed up big time.


	2. The other side of the coin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's perspective of the situation.

Marinette picked up the pastries for their snack thinking about how comfortable she felt in Adrien’s presence now that she had come to terms they wouldn’t be more than just friends. 

When he had asked for her help with Kagami she decided that his happiness was what mattered. Somehow that changed by the end of the day and she still pursued him for some time; maybe because Adrien and Kagami weren’t dating, but she had to admit that they were really close to that. With all the trips and other events they went together, she could tell Mr. Agreste approved their relationship, perhaps even encouraged it. 

Marinette came to realize one day that all the schemes she worked to keep Adrien and Kagami apart weren’t working since she couldn’t get her own feelings out. If he didn’t end up with Kagami, it would be someone else. She shivered just thinking it could be Chloe or Lila. She still wanted to kick herself for teaming up with Chloe. 

And then there was Chat Noir. He had become a constant in her civilian life. It was uncomfortable in the beginning as he asked her for advice to woo Ladybug. However, she took that as a chance to change his behavior during the fights, getting him to concentrate on the task instead of flirting with her. She had by no means any intention of falling for him. She didn’t want to replace Adrien, not by Chat nor by Luka. Marinette still loved Adrien, after all.

At first, she didn’t think Chat would even be able to follow her advice, but he did. He showed her a side of him she had never thought existed. Between his genuine flirt with Ladybug and his speech of complete adoration about the superheroine to Marinette, she was a goner. 

Marinette sighed adjusting the mugs in the tray. Chat hadn’t tried to confess to her again. She wondered if Ladybug would have to be the one to make it this time. He was certainly afraid of being rejected once more. 

She hadn’t expected to see Adrien laying comfortably on her chaise seemingly in deep thought when she returned to her room. It was so similar to when Chat started to think about Ladybug. Was he thinking about Kagami? Maybe he needed advice again and was embarrassed to ask. Marinette smiled sadly. If that was what he needed, then be it. That’s what friends are for, right?

“Lost in thoughts?” Marinette asked and was rewarded by a bright smile on Adrien's lips. She didn’t know if he was happy seeing her or the food, considering the way he looked at the tray before turning his gaze back to the ceiling and sighing. 

“Just wondering if I should try to confess again to Ladybug, but I still don’t know if the time is right. What do you think, Princess?” 

The word ‘confess’ had Marinette paralyzed, bracing herself to hear Kagami’s name following it, but Ladybug’s name leaving his lips along with the familiar nickname Chat used to Marinette shook every ounce of her being. She gasped and became vaguely aware of the mess created by the tray falling to the floor. She couldn’t care less. Adrien was Chat Noir.

“What happened?” He asked already standing in front of her. She hadn’t even registered him standing up, much less approaching her. “Marinette, please. Say something.” 

She could only stare with wide eyes at his worried expression, unable to form words. It took her a while to manage a simple question. “Chat Noir?” 

His confusion told her he wasn’t aware that he wasn’t transformed. It explained why he was so comfortable in her chaise in the first place. She saw the moment he realized his mistake when he saw his bare hands touching her shoulder. 

She expected him to freak out, but that never came, at least not in the form of words. A soft “Uh oh!” left his lips as he struggled to keep it together plastering a fake smile on his face. “Guess the cat is out of the bag,” Adrien said rubbing the back of his neck. 

“You… It was you all this time?” Marinette started pacing her room trying to comprehend the situation, the wet soles of her shoes leaving a trail wherever she went.

“Oh. Yeah!” Adrien averted his gaze to the mess on the floor “We’d better clean this.” 

Marinette glimpsed at the floor and looked at him again shaking her head. “How can you be so calm about me discovering your identity?” She knew for a fact that she would be freaking out, imagining the worst case scenarios if their roles were inverted.

Adrien sighed “Look Marinette, I trust you ok? Aside from the danger that you knowing can bring to you, there’s nothing I need to worry about. I know that you won’t tell anyone. You haven’t told anyone about my visits.” 

Warmth spread in her chest hearing his words. He trusted her. However, it also let her worried. What if he trusted someone else as much as he trusted her? Flashes of him trusting Volpina and believing that Chloe could be Ladybug crossed her mind. He needed to be more careful.

“How can you be so sure? I could be setting a trap to make you feel comfortable around me and then give you in a silver plate to Hawkmoth.” Marinette leaned on her desk crossing her arms over her chest.

“You?” He laughed. “You don’t have a single drop of malice in your body. You couldn’t be evil if your life depended on it. Plus, you had many opportunities to get my Miraculous when I napped in your chaise. You are the nicest and most selfless person I know. And I’m counting Ladybug here.”

Marinette felt her cheeks burn and decided to start cleaning the mess she’d made to conceal her embarrassment. She crouched, picking up the pieces of the mugs and pilling them up on the tray. She didn’t have an answer and he was right. She had had many opportunities. But she was nothing if not stubborn. 

“You can’t trust people like that, Adrien.” His hands touched hers and she was forced to look him in the eye.

“I don’t. Not even Nino. I don’t know why, but I feel like I can tell you everything. I feel safe when I’m with you” He chuckled. “Funny, since I’m the superhero here.” Adrien squeezed her hand. “I know you’re at risk now, but I’ll protect you. With my life.” He looked at their joined hands “You are too important to me.” He added with his voice barely above a whisper.

Marinette couldn’t breathe properly, her heart beating faster than she could remember it ever beating. The things his words did to her weren’t fair. She straightened up forcing him to let go of her hand and cleared her throat. “I’ll get some rag to clean this. See what you can do with the pieces.” 

“Of course,” Adrien answered, a light blush covering his face. 

Marinette leaned on the wall in the kitchen wishing Tikki was with her. The kwami always vanished whenever Adrien came over, probably to hang out with Plagg. “Oh gosh, she knew. No wonder she’s been annoyed lately.” 

As she searched for the things she would need, Kagami invaded her mind. That was a topic she needed to clarify before revealing her own identity to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't planned the third chapter, but this one was getting too long. 
> 
> I hope you like it. Comments are always welcomed.


	3. Cleaning up the mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When secrets identities are involved things can become messier than it normally would. Marinette has the mission to clean them up...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter.  
> It turned out longer than intended. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Marinette returned to her room to find that Adrien had already picked all the shards and ruined pastries, and was looking concerned at the liquid spilled on the floor. 

“This will leave stains.” He said sheepishly.

“Yeah! Nothing I can’t fix though.” She shrugged and watched as his shoulders relaxed. 

“Just tell me what you need and I’ll pay for it. Or I can have someone do it. It was my fault...” he trailed off with a vague motion of his arms.

“It was my fault too. I’ll fix this, but I won’t refuse the money. Now…” she threw him a rag “let’s get to work.” 

An uncomfortable silence fell between them as they cleaned the mess. Marinette’s mind went back and forth with all the things she wanted to ask him. She opened her mouth to ask about Kagami many times but didn’t know how to phrase her question. She wondered what he could be thinking. He was trying to play it cool, but she knew he was nervous. 

They washed their hands when they finished, putting the cleaning supplies aside. Adrien sat on her chaise fidgeting. 

“Will…” he cleared his throat “Will this change things between us?” He didn’t meet her eyes.

“That’s for sure.” His posture deflated even more at her response. “It doesn’t mean it will be for worse, Adrien. It can even be for the better.” His whole face lit up with hope and Marinette couldn’t help but smile. “It will all depend on the answers you give to my questions.”

“What kind of questions?” he asked with furrowed brows.

Marinette took a deep breath. “You’ve been coming here as Chat Noir, telling me about your undying love for Ladybug. I gave you advice and things seemed to be getting better between you and her.” 

“Hum, yes. And that’s why I asked you if I should try to confess again. What exactly is your question, Princess?” 

Marinette’s heart sped up. Did he have to call her that? Unable to keep still, she started pacing in front of him. Adrien watched her every move causing her anxiety to rise even more. “Fine.” She stopped and looked him directly in the eye. “You did that as Chat Noir. But as Adrien, you asked my help with Kagami.” 

“K-Kagami?” He asked, eyes wide, clearly, he wasn’t expecting the question. She smirked. 

“Yeah. Kagami. Since your date at the ice rink, you two have been really close. Trips, events, fencing… God knows what more. She even got akumatized because she was jealous of you.” The memory of Chat Noir doesn't fist-bumping Ladybug in favor of carrying Kagami home pierced Marinette’s heart forming a lump in her throat and a sting sensation in the back of her eyes.

Adrien shook his head over her obvious accusation of him two-timing. “This is a misunderstanding, Marinette.”

Marinette crossed her arms over her stomach leaning in his direction. “You told me you liked her. Remember?” 

He chuckled. “No, I just told you I was starting to see her differently.” Marinette uncrossed her arms when he looked sadly at the floor, resting his elbows on his thighs, fidgeting again. “That day Ladybug had rejected me. She refused the rose I tried to give her and reminded me she was in love with someone else. I did so bad at fencing that Kagami questioned me what was wrong. I vaguely told her about the rejection and she said I should change targets. My kwami agreed with her and I decided to try to move on. It didn’t work, of course.” He sighed “Kagami is a nice girl and we are good friends. That’s all.”

“If you don’t like Kagami like that and don’t have any intention of moving on from Ladybug. Why are you leading Kagami on?” Marinette reached for her chair placing it in front of him and sat.

“I’m not leading her on.” Adrien protested. 

Marinette snorted. “Yes, you are. She really likes you and all the things you do together is …”

“About that”, he cut her off “I don’t exactly have a choice. The events I go with her is all planned between my father and her mother. And I made it clear to her when we were leaving the ice rink that I wouldn’t change my target. That, even though I fail, I will keep trying. I did nothing to give her hope.”

Marinette had to fight the tears of relief threatening to fall. He had rejected Kagami, in a way. “Guess that you are just too nice for your own good then.” She managed to keep her voice somewhat steady.

“What do you mean?” Adrien tilted his head in confusion.

“You treat people so nicely that it gives us the impression that you are interested.” He raised his eyebrow as a mean to ask for clarification “Humm, Kagami, Chloe, Lila…” he snorted at that “me.” She added shyly and did not expect the blush that appeared on Adrien’s cheeks nor his abashed demeanor. “You like me?” Marinette asked surprised.

“Oh, God!” Adrien buried his face in his hand. “I’m not doing anything with my feelings for you, you can’t use them against me.” His voice was barely intelligible through his fingers.

“I… I just wasn’t expecting that.” she laughed in part amused by his embarrassment, and in part to hide her own emotions.

“Hey. Don’t laugh. It is kinda hard not to fall for you.” It was her turn to raise her eyebrow. “I’m serious. You’re amazing, smart… beautiful. Many boys in school have a crush on you.” He grinned as she felt her cheeks burning. “I’m not trying to pursue you. I know we are just friends.” She fought the urge to roll her eyes at that. “And that you like Luka.”

“What?” Marinette would have fallen off her chair if Adrien hadn’t steadied her.

“Ooh, careful, Princess. No need to worry. I won’t tell your secret.” Adrien winked. “Although it’s not so secret. It’s pretty obvious that you are into each other.”

How the heck did he catch her minor interest in Luka and didn’t catch the giant one she had on him? Now that she thought about it, he wasn’t the only one that had to explain certain things. 

“Luka and I are just friends, Adrien.”

“Really? Doesn’t seem like it.” He said not convinced.

“Let’s just say that our case is similar to yours and Kagami’s. He likes me but knows I’m in love with someone else, and we are good friends.” Her words and tone dared him to contradict her. 

He didn’t, instead, he leaned in her personal space and asked: “Can I know who that someone is then?”

“You are such a curious cat.” She pushed him by his nose, much how she did when they were wearing suits. It amazed her how easy that was. “I’ll tell you later. Now, let’s tackle your problem.”

“My problem?” He narrowed his eyes.

“How you are going to try again with Ladybug.” A smile played on her lips while she leaned back on the chair as casual as she could.

“Oh! So you think I should?” she nodded. “Um… I could set up a…”

She raised her hand to cut his words “Keep it simple.”

“Mmhmm. What do you suggest?” Adrien leaned forward expectantly and grinned.

Marinette didn’t have to think that much. She had spent so much time imagining it already, she realized as she sat beside him on the chaise “You can do it at one of those times when you find her on a rooftop.” He kept his eyes on her, focusing on her words. “Things have changed between you two; ask her how deep that goes. Maybe her feelings have changed too.” 

Adrien stood up, shoulders hunched, back turned to her “I don’t think I can do it. What if…” she didn’t need to be a genius to guess what he didn’t say.

“Practice with me.” She offered, wondering if her heart could handle that.

“What?” Adrien spun to face her.

“I said, practice with me. You can pretend I’m her. You can even transform if you think it’ll give you confidence.” She gave him a reassuring smile.

“Are you sure? I mean, I just said I had feelings for you. You don’t think it will get confusing?” He twisted the ring in his finger avoiding her gaze.

“Nah, I won’t use against you.” She giggled and Adrien scowled at her. “Come on. I’ll just seat here on the edge of this roof.” She adjusted her position as if her legs were hanging, looked ahead to nowhere in particular and waited. It took a couple of minutes, but she saw the bright light of his transformation in the corner of her eyes right after some murmuring she couldn’t identify.

Chat Noir cleared his throat and sat beside her also looking ahead “Beautiful evening. Don’t you think, M-my Lady.” His voice was tentative.

“Yeah, it is, Kitty.” She heard him inhale sharply but didn’t look at him. She needed him to keep going.

“So, I’ve been thinking.” He paused for a moment “We’ve become really close lately. Is there a chance that… argh.” He looked at her “Start over.” 

“Ok. You’re just rehearsing. It’s not like I’m Ladybug out of the spots.” She chuckled at her internal joke.

“Fine. Where was I?” He shook his head. “We’ve become really close lately. I’m kind of tempted to believe that you started falling for this cat.” He looked at her and wiggled one brow falling into his own character. “But I don’t want to assume, there is that other guy, so…” He took a deep breath “How do you feel now, Ladybug?” He turned his body, bringing his leg up on the chaise and folding it under the one that was resting on the floor. “Is that good?”

“Well, I like that you asked how she feels instead of just asking for a chance. And that you didn’t use a nickname when you asked.” She could swear the smile he gave her could lit up the entire Paris. 

“Really? I’m going to do this then.” He moved to stand up but she held him by his wrist.

“Hey! I didn’t give you my answer.” He looked at her quizzically “I’m Ladybug, so I have to give you my answer.” She wanted to kick herself for her slip up, but he didn’t seem to have caught on that. He was laughing. 

“Seriously, you don’t need to give me an answer.”

“Oh, shut up and listen.” Marinette admonished him.

“Ok. Go ahead, Bugaboo.” He said that jokingly, but the nickname sent a shiver down her spine. 

She sighed and looked at him from under her lashes. “You’re right. We got closer and that’s because you’ve changed. You showed me you could be more than a flirty try-hard guy. I always knew you were a gentle and caring boy, but that was somehow shadowed by your over-the-top behavior. I won’t lie to you, I was wondering when you would try again… you know, because if you didn’t I would have to.” 

“That first part is believable, but the last…” he interrupted her, his voice faltering.

“Hush. I didn’t finish.” He motioned for her to continue. “However, there is still the other guy.” She smirked barely containing the mischief in her voice. “I still love him, even though he doesn’t see me that way.”

“This guy is an idiot.” His fake smile betrayed how bothered he was with the subject.

She crossed her arms over her chest and made a stern face “You can’t call Adrien Agreste an idiot.”

Chat Noir burst out laughing “Now you took the cake. No way I’m the guy she is in love with. That would be ridiculous.” 

“As ridiculous as it may be, it’s the truth.” She looked at him blankly as she waited for him to stop laughing.

“Oh really? How would you know that? Don’t tell me you’re going to claim to be Ladybug’s best friend as Lila did.” He said sarcastically.

“I’ll do better than that. You might want to close your eyes.”

He looked at her unimpressed “Why would I want to close…”

“Tikki, spots on!” When the light faded she could see his jaw slack and his eyes shielded by his arm. “Because of the light.” She said as he lowered his arm unable to form words. “What? Cat got your tongue?” She kept the smirk on her face, but internally she was shaking with anxiety. “Please, Adrien, say something.”

“Wow. You just fried my brain here.” He bit his lower lip. “Those things you said, did you mean them?” Chat Noir held his breath waiting for her answer. 

“Yes, I meant every word. I told you I was giving you Ladybug’s answer.” She tilted her head shyly.

This propelled him to embrace her. At first, it was just like the desperate hug he gave her when they defeated Animan, but soon it turned softer, lovingly and he retreated enough to look her in the eye and then gaze at her lips “May I?” She just nodded.

Chat lifted his hand to caress her cheek and lifted her chin. Ladybug closed her eyes as soon as she felt his soft lips touching hers. He kissed her reverently as if she could break or disappear at any moment. 

When their lips broke apart and he looked at her again, she said the words she waited so long to say “I love you.”

His eyes sparkled with love and unshed tears “I love you too.” Chat Noir grinned. “But I still think Adrien Agreste is an idiot.”

“Why are you two here? Where’s my daughter?” Tom’s eyes landed on the stains on the floor. “What happened here?”

Ladybug and Chat Noir, who had jumped away from each other at the moment that Tom started talking, looked at each other “Uh! Oh!” They said in unison. 

 

 

Bonus:

“I’m waiting for an explanation. And Chat Noir, you might be a superhero but I’m not going to let you call my future son in law an idiot.” Tom said fully entering the room and looking down at Chat Noir.

Chat shivered remembering Weredad “I’m sorry sir, I didn’t mean to offend and we are here because…”

“We were passing by when we heard some loud noise” Ladybug rushed to save Chat “then we thought it might be an akuma, but it turned out it was just Marinette that had dropped the tray…”

“That sounds like her. But where are they?” Tom interrupted her.

“She was nervous and we took them to the park for some air.” Chat continued.

“And then we came here to clean up things and…” Ladybug paused when Tom calmed down. “They’ll soon be back. We have to go now.” She took Chat by the wrist and headed for the window.

“Bye, Sir. It was a pleasure to see you again.” Chat Noir managed to say before Ladybug dragged him out the room.

They stopped a few rooftops away and Ladybug turned to him. “We’re lucky he believed us.”

“He called me his future son in law.” Ladybug opened her mouth but nothing came. “Does he plan your wedding with every guy you take home?” He pretended to be serious pressing his lips together not to laugh.

“I think he just loves both sides of you too.” She looked up at him closing the distance between them.

“Say that again.” He asked.

“What? That my father loves you?” She teased.

“That you love me.” 

“I love you.” 

“Say it a little louder.”

Ladybug looked at him confused but obliged. “I love you. I love you. I love you.” She said louder each time. “I love you, Chat Noir.” She almost shouted.

Chat laughed and turned to the street below. “Did you catch that Alya?” Ladybug’s eyes opened in surprise following his gaze.

“You bet, Cat Boy.” Alya gave him thumbs up.

“Now you can’t deny it.” His body posture told her he was expecting to be thrown off the roof, so she decided to surprise him. 

“Who said I would.” And Ladybug kissed Chat Noir much to Alya’s delight.


End file.
